Immigration and assimilation

President Obama's recent Executive Order creating an official legal status for certain currently illegal immigrants is a step in the right direction.  It's a restart of something that America has traditionally been very good at doing, but which has been put largely on hold for the last several years -- the assimilation of foreign immigrants into the American system and society.

This was predictable

Predictably, there has been a certain amount of wailing and gnashing of teeth from the conservative side of the political spectrum as a response to the President's action. 

Yes, I will agree that the calculus of votes for the November election probably had something to do with this.  No, I will not agree that such a consideration invalidates the value of this action.

This. . .not so much

Unpredictably, there was also a fairly reasonable and accurate comment from Mitt Romney in his capacity as the GOP's presidential candidate.  To paraphrase him, he said that an executive order does not necessarily create a permanent environment.  That's true, although it's also true to say that an environment created by a Presidential executive order is not necessarily temporary, either.

It's a good beginning

This is a step in the right direction, and more steps are needed.  A permanent solution to the current problem of having about ten million undocumented illegal immigrants living in the United States is needed.

Some people are of the opinion that mass deportation is the solution.  Well, that's a solution, but not the best solution.  It's impractical in terms of the resources that would be needed to accomplish it, and it would be hugely counterproductive for the future of the country.  Likewise for any solution that contemplates the creation of a hostile employment and living environment for these people.

Here's what's needed

What's needed is a good solution that is humane, respectful of the country's history and laws, and economically productive.

Why is this needed?

Because immigration is and always has been a vital part of the way that the country has grown and developed.  Immigration has brought with it abundant skills, energy and ideas.  It has always brought problems, too, starting with the first English settlers at Jamestown in 1607 and continuing right up to today.

Let's not forget that the ability to immigrate to America has for many people meant a better life with freedoms and opportunities that might not have been available to them in other parts of the world.  We're all familiar with the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor and the poem by Emma Lazarus that is inscribed near the statue (". . .Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free. . ."), but  we do not easily remember that the poem names the statue as "Mother of Exiles."


Now that is one powerful name.

When you think about it, it's pretty remarkable to realize that for over four hundred years the country has grown and become great in large part by accepting and dealing with the problems caused by a vital component of that greatness.

Assimilation of immigrants = American greatness

America is able to assimilate newcomers.  It hasn't always been easy--in fact, usually it has been hard--and assimilation has occurred in fits and starts.  However, it has always happened.

But it cannot happen if the reality of the immigrants is denied.  Our current approach to undocumented illegal immigrants amounts to denying the reality that most of these people actually live among us.  As a result, the process of assimilation is put into stasis.

Assimilation of immigrants is what has created today's America.  The country would be much different, poorer and weaker if it had not assimilated the Irish, the Scots, the Germans, the French, the Italians, the Chinese, the Japanese, the Koreans, the Mandinka, the Temne, the Portuguese, the Egyptians, the Hungarians, the Croatians, the Mexicans, the Filipinos, and numerous other waves of immigrants from Africa, Europe, Asia, Latin America and all other parts of the world.

Ironically, the only people currently living in the United States who have not been fully-assimilated into what we now think of as "the American way" are those whose ancestors were the original inhabitants of this land, namely, the Native Americans.  All of the rest of us owe our existence in America to immigration.

History is the proof for this case

Not much else needs to be said on this to build an iron-clad case for documenting the undocumented and continuing their assimilation into American society.  Not much else is needed because over four centuries of American history has already proven the point. 

Documentation, acceptance and assimilation means that people can live in an honorable and secure fashion, and can maximize their contributions to American society through their culture, their skills, their work, their consumption, and--yes, we had to get to this point--through their tax payments.

This is a two-way street; no doubt about it.  Respect must flow in all directions, laws must be properly enforced and enacted as necessary, and those who are new will end up changing themselves more than will those of us who are already a part of the mainstream.

Anything less than full acceptance and full assimilation means that we are all just cheating ourselves.

Like I said at the beginning -- this Executive Order is a good start, but it's only a start.